In the past 24 years at Phoebus High, Bill Dee has seen enough college football coaches walk unannounced through his office door to know what not to do once he starts hitting the recruiting trail. That day is coming soon.

Dee will begin full-time duties July 1 as the defensive line coach for Christopher Newport University. After having a high school coach's view to the ins and outs of college football recruitment, including having 10 Phoebus players sign letters of intent this year, Dee has developed his own preliminary list of do's and don'ts he'll use in his own recruiting endeavors.

The list surely will evolve as he gains college experience, but some things won't change.

"Some (college coaches) just pop in and don't let you know they're coming by and all that type of stuff," Dee said. "You've got to have a respect for what the high school coaches are doing and all the stuff they have to do — teaching and coaching and all that kind of stuff. I think the big thing in recruiting is you have to take the evaluation of the high school coach to be a real important thing."

In case you're wondering, a decade of often-lopsided whuppings delivered to Peninsula District opponents won't affect his recruiting targets. He said he anticipates spending most of his time recruiting in the Eastern Region.

"I really don't have a problem with many people in the district … because I never really ever ran it up on people," Dee said.

"(Area players and parents) really don't know as much about CNU as I would like them to know. CNU (football) has really only been in existence for eight years, but they've won the (USA South Athletic Conference) in six out of those eight years. The thing I'm pushing to the kids in this area with CNU is that you get to play right here in front of your hometown people."

The unique nature of the Division III football recruiting calendar is something Dee already has confronted.

At the D-III level, schools often must wait to see which players don't sign with schools in higher divisions. In D-I football, most schools lock up their entire recruiting class by the first Wednesday each February — National Signing Day. In D-III, athletic scholarship money doesn't exist, and final recruiting decisions aren't usually made until February, March, April and May.

Dee admits he hopes the current crop of area high school players — now known as recruits in his world — will associate his name with Phoebus' recent success. Having the ability to say he owns four state championship rings is maybe his biggest advantage on the recruiting trail right now, especially in Hampton Roads.

"Being that I worked at Phoebus should draw attention, and it should add a certain credibility because of what we did at Phoebus," Dee said. "Plus, the important thing is I know a lot of people throughout the state. … Having that credibility with the high school coaches is important because they're the guys that are going to give you a call and say 'I've got this kid. You might want to take a look at them.' "

Painter pursuersDeShawn Painter, a 6-foot-9 basketball recruit who played at Hargrave Military Academy this winter after transferring from Booker T. Washington High in Norfolk, de-committed early this week from the University of Florida and could be considering Virginia or Virginia Tech.

He signed a letter of intent with Florida, but Painter and the Gators' coaching staff have mutually agreed to release him. He's considered by many recruiting analysts to be one of the nation's top 100 prospects for the class of 2009.

Before signing with Florida, Painter, a product of the Boo Williams AAU program, was considering scholarship offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse, Clemson, Kentucky and North Carolina State, among others.

Might U.Va. or Tech — both of which are starved for quality big men — have a legit shot at getting Painter now? Could the presence of his offensive lineman cousin, Vinston Painter, on Tech's football team give the Hokies an advantage?

If either Tech or U.Va. plans to make a strong push to add Painter in '09, both schools will have to reconfigure scholarships. Neither school has any men's basketball scholarships immediately available.

Norm Wood can be reached at 247-4642 at nwood@dailypress.com. For more recruiting news, go to dailypress.com/recruiting.